Times of India
6 June 2008
Pune, India

An anti–retroviral therapy centre for providing free treatment to HIV positive patients will become functional at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation–run Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) from next month. Speaking to TOI on Thursday, R.R. Iyer, medical director, PCMC, said the ART centre would be a public–private partnership (PPP) initiative of the PCMC, Bajaj Auto Limited, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

Explaining the need for the centre, Iyer said since there was no such facility available at the YCMH, the PCMC took the initiative and held discussions with the NACO and industry officials. While the PCMC will provide the space for the centre, the NACO will provide medicines and the Bajaj Auto will provide the necessary staff. Iyer said the centre would be open on all days and free medicine would be distributed to HIV positive patients.

A team comprising the NACO, the CII and Bajaj Auto officials visited the hospital on Thursday. Among present were Rekha Jain of the Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) and Ramnik Ahuja of the CII.